Harry Potter: Auror Tales - Book 1: Those Left
by Obrusnine
Summary: After the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry started Auror training. After completing his training and becoming an Auror, he is quickly stuck on his first case with a partner he has only met once before. The remaining Death Eaters have returned to seek vengeance against the Ministry, and it's the Aurors jobs to hunt them down.
1. Chapter 1: Training

**So, after a long time of me just wanting to respect the series and leave it alone (even though it formed by childhood), I finally want to come here and write Fanfiction for it. I hope you like it.**

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**Harry Potter: Auror Tales**

**Book 1: Those Left**

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**By Obrusnine**

**Chapter 1: Training**

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Harry looked about, biting his lip nervously as he walked into the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. It had only been a month since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts… yet here everyone was, bustling about as if nothing had happened. The statue that had rested in the center of the room during the Death Eater takeover of the Ministry was gone, replaced with a statue of an old wizard holding his wand in the sky.

On the base of the statue on every side, there was a plaque with a list of names of all of the Wizard's and Witch's known to have died by Death Eater or Voldemort's hands in honor of the sacrifices they had made during the Second Wizarding War. Harry smiled slightly at the knowledge that he would never see that horrible statue again.

He slightly wished Ron was beside him as he headed towards the elevators that would take him to the Second Floor Auror office. At the moment, Ron had decided to help his brother George at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life in the aftermath of the war. Hermione on the other hand was preparing to return to Hogwarts and finish her Seventh Year, something they had decided not to do.

Instead, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister of Magic, had decided to allow any Wizard or Witch who had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts to submit to Auror training regardless if they had passed their N.E.W.T.'s or not. Harry, who had always wanted to be an Auror, decided to accept this call.

He checked Fabian Prewett's old watch and noticed that he was actually a bit early. He wondered whether it was better to arrive fashionably late rather than early as he stepped off the lift onto Level Two. This level was rather less busy then the rest of the Ministry, and Harry guessed this was due to the large number of deaths during the Second Wizarding War. He sighed as he headed around the corner and to the right into the Auror Office.

He almost wasn't surprised to find the office almost entirely empty. There were several others his age sitting on a bench on the left side of the room, most filling out thick packets with an ink bottle sitting balanced on the chair next to them, and across from them a receptionist sitting at a desk and whispering incantations while waving her wand… causing several papers to jump from shelves or forms to fill themselves out. When he examined the others sitting on the bench, ranging from nervous to excessively calm, he recognized quite a few of them. But most prominent among them was Neville Longbottom.

"Hello Neville." Harry said as he crossed the room. "Everyone."

"Hello Harry." A lot of them said. The other few stayed quiet, looking up at him briefly before turning their eyes back to their shoes. He looked away and stepped up to the desk.

"Name?" The receptionist asked without looking up. She had a droning and disinterested voice.

"Um… Harry Potter." Harry said. She turned around and pointed her wand at a nearby shelf.

"Accio registration form." She said. A thick packet quite like the ones the others were filling out jumped to her hand and she set it down on the desk before Harry. "Fill this out please."

"Alright." Harry said. He took the packet and sat down at the end of the bench. He suddenly realized he had no quill and started to stand.

"Hey, you need a quill?" The man sitting next to him asked offering a quill and a capped ink bottle. "I just finished mine."

"Yes, thank you." Harry said taking it.

"Harry Potter then hm?" He asked.

"Yes." He said setting down the ink bottle beside him. He looked back at the man, and saw that he had blue eyes and long blonde hair. He offered a hand, the man accepted it.

"I'm John Lane." He said. "I probably shouldn't be here; my parents certainly thought I was too young."

"Well, I wouldn't know. I don't have any." Harry said returning his hand to take the cap off of the ink bottle. The man stood and took his packet over to the receptionist, who told him to wait.

"Well, I do. They can be quite bothersome they can." He replied. "But I got them to let me come all the same."

"Are your parent's Muggles or something?" Harry asked trying to make conversation as he filled out his packets. "I thought Wizards could stop answering to their parents at 17."

"No, my parents are Purebloods." He said. "I'm only 16. I managed to escape the group that was trying to evacuate us from the castle and fight."

"Really? What house were you in?" Harry asked as he turned the page.

"I'm a Slytherin." John said.

"That's surprising; most of your House didn't seem to want to help…"

"Well, those wankers can shove it up theirs." John said. "I cannot believe I was the only Slytherin who fought. Hogwarts was my home away from home, and you can bet bloody well I was going to defend it."

Harry smiled as he continued to fill out his form. A door opened at the end of the room, causing all of them to look up. A middle-aged man wearing non-descript black robes stepped out, keeping his hand on the doorknob. Everyone including Harry looked up to see who it was, but he did not recognize the man.

"John Lane." He said simply.

"Well, that's me." John said. Harry put the Quill down and shook John's hand again. "It was nice to meet you Harry."

"Same to you John." Harry replied. John stood up and headed towards the door. "Don't you want your Quill back?"

John looked back grinning.

"You can keep it Harry." He said. "Just remember that you'll owe me one."

"Yea, I will." Harry said as John went with the man into the back room. As he continued to fill out his form, people came and went into the back room. After a few minutes, Neville seemed to complete his form and stood up, accidentally spilling the ink bottle all over his robes, the floor, and the witch next to him.

"Oh no!" He said. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about." She said. She pointed her wand at the center of the ink and said, "Scourgify."

The ink was all sucked into the tip of her wand, disappearing into nothing and leaving them with clean clothes. When she turned around to sit, it was revealed to be Hannah Abbott.

"Thank you. Thank you a lot." Neville said blushing.

"It was no problem." She said smiling back. Neville seemed to stutter for a bit.

"Well… I… I need to go turn this in." He mumbled. He walked over to the desk and handed the packet to the receptionist. Harry concentrated on finishing his own. When he was finally done, the ink bottle was nearly empty. He took out his wand and pointed it at the ink bottle. "Rillio."

The ink bottle was suddenly full again. He stashed the bottle and quill in his pants pocket before standing up and handing it to the receptionist. It was almost as if they had been watching, as the door immediately opened. Before, the same man had stepped out every time… this time it was someone different.

He wore long blue robes and had a long brown beard accompanied by long brown hair. He appeared to be middle-aged as well, although, he had a few more wrinkles then the standard middle-aged man. He examined Harry with a examining stare before speaking in a deep grating voice.

"Harry Potter." He said. Harry put his wand back in his pocket before walking up to the man. The man guided him into a long dark hallway. The man made no move to light the dark place, so Harry pulled out his wand and, without asking cast a spell.

"Lumos." Harry said. The tip of his wand lighted, revealing that the hallway was covered in doors on either side. The man did not react to his spell, so he continued to look around. There were torches, but they were not lit. Harry waved his wand whispering another incantation and all of the torches flared up before they disappeared nearly instantly.

"You will find that those torches are not for lighting Mr. Potter." The man said.

"Well then… what are they there for?" Harry asked.

"That is for me to know, and you to find out."

Harry lifted an eyebrow, but kept following him down the long hallway. It took several minutes, but eventually, the man stopped and opened a door into a room. Harry blinked as he realized that this room was fully lit.

"Nox." He whispered, and the light on the end of his wand went out. He stashed it back in his pocket as Harry waited for the man to step inside, but he did not. Eventually, Harry figured out that he wanted him to enter first, so he did.

"I will return Mr. Potter." He said. He closed the door behind Harry.

He looked about the room. The walls were lined with torches, and in the center was a platform made from dark black stone. Harry stepped up onto it and looked around. He waited for what seemed like hours. He paced and paced until it seemed like he was going to cut a rut into the floor. His legs began to get tired, so he sat down, but found it freezing, so he stood back up.

Harry was just about to go outside and see if there was anyone to ask how long he would be waiting when suddenly; all of the lights went out. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he immediately went for his wand and flipped around. A jet of red light materialized out of thin air, and Harry jumped aside as the spell narrowly missed him.

"LUMOS!" Harry cried. The light on the end of his wand flared up like a bright sun, illuminating the entire room in fierce light but revealing no one. "What the?"

Suddenly though, there was a flash of white light from nearby and another spell flew towards him.

"Protego!" Harry yelled. The white spell flashed against his shield, but otherwise, did nothing further. He realized then that the user must be using an invisibility spell. "Homenum Revelio!"

A yellow flash of light resembled into a glowing area of dust in an area a bit to Harry's right.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled. A jet of red light leaped from his wand and towards the spot, which moved to the left to dodge Harry's spell. "Aguamenti!"

A jet of water shot from Harry's wand and onto the floor near the dust. There was the sound of slipping shoes on wet floor and a thump as someone fell over. Harry followed the dust with his wand as a human shape appeared, revealing the same man from before.

"Very smart Potter." He said. He hopped to his feet. "Decargo!"

The glowing dust faded.

"Why are you doing this?" Harry asked keeping his wand pointed at his adversary.

"Why would I be doing this Potter?" He asked.

"This is a test…" Harry whispered to himself.

"Indeed." He replied. "Relashio!"

There was flash and suddenly Harry was forced to let go of his wand. As he dived down to grab it, the man waved his wand again.

"Flipendo!" He cried. There was a flash of blue light and Harry was thrown backwards and away from his wand. Harry rolled as he set a storm of Stupefy spells at where he had just been laying. He then got up and ran as fast as he could, managing to grab his wand as the man cried out another spell.

"Expulso!" He cried.

"Protego!" Harry yelled again. He had managed to cast the spell in time and the shield was raised, but Harry had been off-balance, and the forceful explosion knocked him off of his feet and onto his back. Instead of staying still, he used the momentum to go into a roll as he got back onto his feet. "Expelliarmus!"

The man's wand started to leap from his hand.

"Epoximise!" The man said. His wand seemed to stick to his hand, preventing it from being let go. "Flipendo!"

"Stupefy!" Harry responded. The spells collided in mid-air, causing an explosion of light so bright Harry had to cover his eyes.

"Stupefy!" Harry heard over the noise. He tried to cast a shield charm, but it was too late and he felt it as the stunning spell collided with his chest, sending him flying backward and onto the floor. He managed to barely remain conscious, but found that he could not move. The man approached nodding approvingly.

"Congratulations Potter, you managed to give me quite a run for my money there." He said. "Rennervate."

The effects from the stunning spell suddenly disappeared and Harry climbed to his feet with a groan of pain.

"Thank you sir, I think." Harry said as he dusted himself off. The torches lit back up. "May I at least have the honor of knowing your name before you try to kill me again?"

He laughed.

"Very well. I am the head of the Auror office, Oliver Jaggerweld."

He shook Harry's hand.

"Isn't it customary to bow before a duel?" Harry asked.

"Of course, but the Auror's don't hesitate, and we don't let custom dictate how we destroy our enemies." Oliver said.

"So… did I pass the test?" He asked.

"Oh Mr. Potter, the test has just begun."

He was led from the room then. He was put through several trials. He had to mix a common potion without referring to instructions, he had to fight his way through carnivorous plants without damaging them, he had to decipher whether or not people were lying without resorting to any magic, and several others.

Hours later, Oliver was leading Harry to his next trial.

"I have to ask, what is the point of all of this?" Harry asked.

"It is both to gauge your ability Mr. Potter, and to make sure you are worthy of even being considered for training." Oliver said. "You have already made it farther than most. You have of course failed in some tests, yet you have excelled in others. You have great potential, and that is what we look for in recruits for the Auror training program.

"I am in fact surprised that so many of you are doing so well at this testing. I was initially quite worried when Minister Shacklebolt lifted the N.E.W.T. requirements for those who participated at the Battle of Hogwarts. I am disappointed I was not there myself, as it appears that battle hardened you and everyone else."

"People died." Harry said.

"People die all the time; it's the survivor's that truly matter."

This angered Harry, as he was implying that those who have died should be forgotten. That only people that were still alive mattered. He saw that there was some truth to that philosophy, but it was just now how he thought. He calmed himself though, if he wanted to be an Auror, the last thing he wanted to do was anger him.

It was as though he had read Harry's mind.

"You can speak how you will Mr. Potter." He said. "I do not restrict the words of my underlings. Sometimes they know better than I, and I would be foolish to deny their observations."

"It's just… I think we should remember the dead sir." Harry replied. "We should honor their sacrifice, use those memories to help us fight."

"Empathy will get you killed in this business Harry, I urge you to lose it. You must be impartial. Feelings may have helped you in your battle against Voldemort… but it will not help you here." Oliver said.

"With all due respect Mr. Jaggerweld, I'll stick to my philosophy and you can stick to yours."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Oliver said. "You'll see the truth in time, one way or another."

"Well, it's a bet then."

"I guess it is."


	2. Chapter 2: The Return

**Read and review!**

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**Harry Potter: Auror Tales**

**Book 1: Those Left**

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**By Obrusnine**

**Chapter 2: The Return**

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The rigorous testing went on for days, offering only short bursts of rest. By the end, Harry was exhausted but still standing. Every time he was injured, a nice nurse was there to patch him up and then it was back into the fray. But eventually, the tests ended and only six potential Auror recruits remained. After a long rest, Harry, Neville, John, and three others Harry did not recognize met in a room where Oliver Jaggerweld waited standing on a platform above them.

"Alright you lot, listen up." He said. "Twenty-seven of you showed up to take these trials to become Auror's, most of you failed, but here you six stand… ready to start your training. Do not take your passing these trials as a guarantee that you will become Auror's. If you do not pass your training with high marks, you will still fail.

"If you succeed over the next three years, then you will become Auror's. If not, you will be relegated to lower departments. You will need to try, and try hard. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." Everyone said.

"Good. Berenson, go get them ready to start their courses."

The next three years were brutal. The tests were just the beginning. After that, they went through rigorous training in nearly all forms of magic. They had to duel with full Auror's, fight monster's, defeat dark magic cast upon them by former Death Eaters, and any number of other rigorous physical tests. They were also never trained together, only alone, so they were not able to lean on each other as students in school were.

The written tests were a blessed reprieve when they came, but they hardly ever did. Every night's sleep was something they all treasured.

Still, happiness existed in Harry's life outside of the Ministry. He married Ginny, Ron married Hermione upon her return from Hogwarts, Hermione joined the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Ron finally entered the Auror training program a year after Harry, Neville began a relationship with Hannah Abbott, and any number of other seemingly small things to others… but remarkable to Harry.

Finally though, their training came to a close, and only three of them remained. Harry himself, Neville, and John Lane. They were one by one put through strenuous interrogations and psychological exams, and every one of them passed.

When they finally stepped into the Awards wing of the Auror Office three years later to the day, they were extremely proud of themselves. They stood in a line as Oliver Jaggerweld stepped into the room and walked to stand in front of Neville.

"Neville Longbottom, you have distinguished yourself well in your past years in Auror training." He said. He turned and waved his wand as Neville stood stock still and straight. A small box opened on the shelf, and a badge jumped from it to Oliver's hand. "I am glad to present you with your Auror badge. Welcome to the Auror's."

He placed the badge in Neville's hand, to which he responded with a nod. He repeated the process with John Lane and then stepped in front of Harry.

"Harry Potter, you have distinguished yourself even better than the others over your training. You have received the highest marks ever awarded to someone going through Auror training. You have even managed to defeat several fully trained professional Auror's in duels…" Oliver said. He put Harry's badge in Harry's hand. "I am proud to present you with your Auror badge. Welcome to the Auror's… I cannot wait to see what you become."

The last words seemed a bit wondrous. Oliver had always been hard to please and tough, so these encouraging words that were outside of the required script for this ceremony made Harry wonder at him as well.

"Thank… thank you sir." Harry replied.

"Well, all's well then." Oliver said. He started walking to the door. "Come on you lot, just because you just became Auror's means nothing! You start now!"

"What? Right now?" Neville asked.

"That's right Longbottom, right now." He said. While surprised, the followed Oliver out of the Awards chamber and out of the long dark training hallway. Harry had never found out what the torches which could not be lighted were for, so he hoped to ask around now that he was an Auror. Right now though, Oliver seemed to want to put them to work, so he wasn't exactly sure when he would get that chance.

They walked up to another door and Oliver took out his badge, presenting it to the door.

"Oliver Jaggerweld, Head of the Auror's." He said. Instead of the door opening, Oliver disapparated with a loud _crack_.

"That's one weird way to enter an office." John said.

"Well, better follow suit." Harry said.

"Are you sure that was supposed to happen?" Neville asked.

"Don't worry so much Neville." Harry replied. He raised his badge. "Harry Potter, Auror."

Nothing happened, but suddenly, he got a tingling feeling in his chest. He disapparated and suddenly he appeared in the center of a rather busy room. There were not many people there, but papers and other things were flying all over the place of their own accord. The people who were there were talking loudly, giving the impression that the office was fuller then it actually was. Harry's thought was that this was an attempt to fill the void created by the death of so many Auror's during the Second Wizarding War.

Suddenly, Neville appeared behind him with a loud crack and stumbled into Harry.

"Sorry Harry!" He said as he pulled Harry to his feet.

"It's okay Neville; I shouldn't have been standing there." Harry said. John appeared next, and he looked around.

"Wow." He said. "It's less impressive than I thought it would be."

"Yea, well, when you get your hopes up…" Harry trailed off.

"Potter, Longbottom, Lane… get over here!" Oliver said from a desk nearby. They all walked over. "Nice of you all to show up."

"Sorry sir, we were… distracted." Harry replied.

"Well… be mindful it does not happen again."

Harry nodded.

"Anyways, you should know that all Auror's are paired with a partner." Oliver said. "I myself instituted this rule during that war. It was too often that Aurors would go out and get themselves killed alone, so you will stay with your partner unless it is absolutely necessary to split up, and you will never go into a known dangerous situation alone. Clear?"

"As day." Lane said.

"Lane, you'll be with Potter." Oliver said. "Longbottom, you'll be paired with Amanda Larington. She's down in the Atrium waiting for you; she'll fill you in on the current situation."

"Yes sir." Neville said.

"She's a very experienced Auror; you give her the respect she deserves." Oliver said.

"Yes sir." He looked about. "How do I get back?"

"The Anti-Apparation charm and the Anti-Disapparation Jinx are not effective in that spot you apparated in on. Just go stand there and disapparate back into the hallway."

Neville did as he was told.

"What should we do sir?" Harry asked. Oliver waved his wand and a file jumped into his hand, he handed it to Harry. He opened it to find a file on a former Death Eater called Alan Anair. Lane looked at it to.

"What? Has whoever this man is gone back to his old ways?" Lane asked. "The Auror office just released a report that all Death Eaters have been captured or pardoned by now…"

"That was a lie." Oliver said. "It was a lie put forward by Minister Shacklebolt and backed by myself to settle people down and cloud what's really happening."

"What's happening?" Harry asked.

"This is strictly confidential, you must not tell anyone. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Lane said.

"Potter?"

"Yes sir." Harry replied.

"Good." Oliver said. "You see, something's been happening in the last year. Death Eaters gone into hiding have been showing back up on the radar, killing Muggles and isolated Wizards and Witches. Other Wizards and Witches have been disappearing."

"Why now?" Harry asked. "Why not years ago?"

"We have been questioning former Death Eater's. Their Dark Marks, which became discolored after Voldemort's death, have been growing darker again." Oliver said.

"Voldemort's back? Again?" Harry asked worried.

"Thankfully, I don't think so." Oliver said. "They've described the feelings they've been getting as different than before… as if someone else has broken into the spell that binds them all together."

"The Death Eaters have a new leader?" Lane asked.

"It appears so."

"This is bad, why are we keeping it from everyone? They have a right to know!" Harry asked.

"It lulls the Death Eaters into a false sense of security Potter."

"But it lulls our side into a false sense of security to!"

"No, he's right Harry." Lane said. "If they think they are still safe, then it will make it easier to catch them."

"He's right." Oliver said. Harry bit his lip.

"Fine, but I don't like it." He replied.

"You don't have to."

"What about Anair?" Lane asked.

"You are to hunt him down and bring him in, dead or alive." Oliver said. "In that file is some information about his last known whereabouts. There are also some known contacts and other clues we've found.

"You have to keep this quiet. Right now, the Death Eaters can't afford to be revealed as they rebuild their forces. We can't afford to reveal them either; panic will only make our jobs harder. Remember, Aurors operate of their own accord. Right now our top priority is to figure out who the new leader of the Death Eaters is. If you get a chance, you find out."

"Yes sir." They both said.

"Now go." He said. "Don't come back unless you have Anair."

They both nodded and left. When they were in the Atrium, Harry started examining the file.

"So, what should we do first?" Lane asked.

"You want me to decide?" Harry replied.

"You have more experience with this kind of thing then I do. Experience beats all."

"Alright then, we need to canvas the contacts and known family." Harry said. "I'm going to do that, I want you to go and check his last known locations for any hints about his whereabouts. We'll check on each other every three hours by Patronus. We'll meet up in Diagon Alley to discuss our findings when we're done."

"Sounds like a plan." Lane said.

"Let's get moving then."


	3. Chapter 3: Assault

**Harry Potter: Auror Tales**

**Book 1: Those Left**

* * *

**By Obrusnine**

**Chapter 3: Assault**

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When they got outside, Harry used a spell to make a copy of the file and gave it to John. He opened the file and quickly apparated. He opened his own file and found the first known contact at the top of the list. He scowled as he saw who it was, Lucius Malfoy. The last place he wanted to be was at Malfoy Manor, but he had no choice. He shrunk the file with a spell and placed it in his inner robe pocket. He then apparated to the entrance of Malfoy Manor.

He looked about cautiously as he approached the gate to the Manor. Lucius Malfoy had been one of those pardoned after the war. This had been due to Narcissa's lie to Voldemort and because Lucius had provided critical information afterwards that led to the capture of several rogue Death Eaters. Still, Harry didn't like him much.

As he approached the wrought iron gates, he straightened his robes and tried to look as official as possible, as he had been taught. He tried to flatten his hair, but as always, that was a lost cause. He adjusted his glasses and stopped before the gate which contracted into a face. The wrangling metallic voice he had just three years past echoed through his head again, saying the same line.

"State your purpose!" It said.

"I am Auror Harry Potter, and I demand entrance so I can speak to Lucius Malfoy."

A few seconds passed, but eventually, the gate swung open and Harry walked inside. He had been taught how to walk with purpose when at training, he had never been particularly good at it, but he tried his best to put it on now… looking slightly ridiculous doing so. Or at least, he felt ridiculous.

As he approached the house, he saw Lucius Malfoy standing stock still with his arms crossed behind his back just before the door inside. He glared at Harry as he approached, but Harry did not break pace or react. He had learned how to interrogate in training, and he knew if he showed a moment's hesitation, then the other side would have the upper hand. So, he showed no hesitation, no doubt, and no weakness.

"Hello Lucius Malfoy. I am Auror Harry-" He started to say.

"I know who you are boy." He replied coldly. "Now what do you want? As I have said… I am at the Ministry's disposal."

"I am looking for Alan Anair. Do you happen to know where I can find him?"

"No clue, I haven't seen another of my "compatriots" in years." Lucius said. Harry examined his eyes, and he saw them quiver a bit. He could tell Lucius was lying; he just wasn't sure about what. He grabbed his wand without showing it, and whispered a spell that allowed him to hear Lucius's heartbeat, effectively allowing him to recognize when Lucius was lying.

"You're lying about something." Harry said bluntly. "If you know where Anair is, then you will tell me. Some dropped charges could come back on you."

Lucius glared at him even more angrily.

"How… how _dare _you march into my house and call me a liar?" Lucius asked angrily. "How _dare _you come here and threaten me?"

"I don't care what you've done Mr. Malfoy, just tell me what you know about Anair and I will leave." Harry said. "Also, we are not technically in your house yet."

"I told you, I have not seen Anair in over three years nor any of my other "friends"." He replied. Harry listened to his heartbeat, it was the truth.

"I know you know something. Tell me."

Harry didn't know why he didn't want to tell him. After all that Lucius had offered to the Ministry, it couldn't be because he was trying to protect him… No, something else was at play here.

"Fine…" Lucius said. "I have heard rumors lately from some contacts around Knockturn Alley. They say someone knew has risen to command the Death Eaters… and I feel it, in my Mark, that that is the truth."

"We know that already, what about Anair?" Harry asked.

"There's a store. It's not really a store. It's a front for selling very dangerous and illegal dark objects…" Lucius said.

"Borgan & Burkes?" Harry asked.

"No." Lucius said. "It was closed down after the war for granting Death Eaters the use of the vanishing cabinet. Besides, dark magic objects the likes of what they sold were legal at the time, but not legal today. This is something else. During daytime hours, they sell trinkets and tokens… dropping hints about their true business to anyone who looks like they would be trustworthy purchasers.

"During the nighttime, they ploy their trade."

"What does this have to do with Anair?" Harry asked.

"I have managed to hear that Death Eaters quite often pass through their, selling dark magic objects to them to try and finance their operations. Anair was supposedly there, and he was selling something quite more valuable than any of the others…" Lucius said mysteriously.

"Oh, and what would that be?"

"I believe you are familiar with the concept of a Horcrux Mr. Potter." Lucius said.

"A… a Horcrux?" Harry said. His eyes widened. "But who's Horcrux?"

"Gellert Grindelwald." Lucius said.

"Gellert… Gellert Grindelwald?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"But… how?"

"During his rush for power in Europe, he created a single Horcrux as a fallback should he ever die."

"Why were you holding out on this before?" Harry asked.

"Because I don't want you to track it back to the original owner." Lucius said.

"You found it?" He asked immediately making the connection.

"Yes." He replied. "Only then I didn't know what it was… I didn't find out until after I sold it at Borgin and Burkes, and by the time I tried to get it back, it was too late. If it was found out I kept something this major from the Ministry… my pardon could be revoked."

"This is very major. What is wrong with you?" Harry asked. "When did you find it?"

"About seven years ago."

"You would think that after that diary you would've learned something."

"I knew what the diary was, somewhat… I didn't know exactly what it was until Borgin told me the seller identified it as something called a Horcrux, claiming that it belonged to Gellert Grindelwald." Lucius said. "I researched and found out what Horcrux's were and tried to track in back down, but it was in the wind."

"So somehow Anair got his hands on it…" Harry whispered. "Is that all you know?"

"Yes. Is my pardon safe?"

"We'll get back to you on that. It depends on whether or not we manage to stop this from spinning out of control."

He turned around and left. When he got outside, he pulled out his wand.

"Expecto Patronum." Harry said. A stag leapt from Harry's wand to stand before him. "Verballio Oliver Jaggerweld."

"Speak." His Patronus said in an unidentifiable voice.

"Sir, Anair is in possession of a Horcrux made by Gellert Grindelwald. I and Lane will continue pursuit; I just thought you ought to know." Harry said.

His Patronus nodded and leapt into the sky. He repeated the process this time with Lane's name.

"Lane, Anair is in possession of a Horcrux made by Gellert Grindelwald. He is more dangerous than we thought. Finish up your job as quickly as possible and I'll finish mine. As soon as you're done, meet me at the Leaky Cauldron."

His second Patronus flew off and he checked the next name on the list. He didn't recognize the name, so he looked at the address and apparated to it. The next few interviews were uneventful. Lane returned his Patronus with an affirmative after a while, and Harry continued. The interviews ranged from former Death Eaters, to family, to impartial contacts who they had not had evidence enough to convict.

None of them offered any useful information, and he began to feel it was a waste of time. Hours passed and night began to fall before he reached the last name on the list. It was an inconsequential woman contact, but he needed to track every lead, so he apparated to the address.

Almost immediately, he could feel that there was something wrong. The air felt too cold, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He pulled out his wand and cast a Patronus, sending it to John to warn him something was wrong. He could not wait for him though, so he approached the house to see the door was open. He kept his wand up as he entered the house, scanning the dark for enemies.

"Lumos…" He whispered. A dim light shone on the end of his wand, giving him enough light to see ahead of him. He entered the living room, and saw a dead woman on the floor. "Homenum Revelio."

A burst of glowing dust illuminated a space behind him and he flipped around, but it was too late. Anair popped out of a closet with his wand held high.

"Bombarda Maxime!" He cried.

"Protego!" Harry yelled. His shield barely formed in time as the explosion rocked the entire house. The floor right in front of him was obliterated and Harry was sent flying backwards into the wall. His head knocked into it and a pain rocked him as he hit it hard. He almost lost consciousness but managed to hold on. But he dropped his wand onto the ground and it rolled away.

He tried to grab it again in his stupor, but another spell was cried out.

"Expelliarmus!"

It was sent flying away again before Harry managed to counter the disarming spell.

Anair walked into the dim light still showing on the end of Harry's wand. His gaunt face was illuminated. He had yellow eyes and balding gray hair. He looked nothing like the picture had, and when he spoke, it was as if two voices were mingled together.

"So you must be Harry Potter." He said. "Protégé of Albus, and the one who defeated the supposedly greatest dark wizard of all time, Voldemort."

Suddenly, he realized he was not really talking to Anair… but Grindelwald. Anair was what Ginny would've been like if the memory of Tom Riddle had managed to possess her in the Chamber of Secrets so many years earlier.

"Grindelwald." Harry said simply.

"Indeed." He replied.

"So you're the new leader of the Death Eaters?"

"Oh no…" Grindelwald said, seemingly insulted. "I would never lead such meaningless rabble. She will eventually fall before me though, as will all who oppose my power. From what I understand of Anair's memories, it seems you now control _my _wand. So, when I kill you, I can then go and retrieve it from that fools tomb."

"Dumbledore was not a fool!" Harry said, trying to sit up. Grindelwald twisted his wand, pressing Harry back against the wall.

"He was a fool Potter!" Grindelwald said angrily. "He had a chance at power beyond his own imagining, and he threw it away for his petty family! They always got in his way, and his duel with me was the final insult. But he didn't know did he, none of you did. You could not predict that I, the greatest Dark Wizard of all time, had made a Horcrux of my own!"

He laughed maniacally.

"If you had ever truly controlled the Elder Wand, Dumbledore wouldn't have defeated you in that duel!" Harry replied.

"He used underhand tactics that I could not predict and the Elder Wand could not prevent." Grindelwald answered. "He was always intelligent he was. Yet at the same time, he was stupid beyond imagining."

Harry kept trying to fruitlessly resist.

"But none of that matters now, especially not to you." Grindelwald said. "It's time for you to die Harry Potter. Avada Kedav-"

"Expelliarmus!" Cried the familiar and welcome voice of John Lane. Anair's wand went flying from Grindelwald's hand and to the floor. Harry was released from the spell and managed to grab his wand from the floor and point it at Grindelwald.

"It's over Anair. Surrender now and we won't kill you." Lane said.

"It's not Anair Lane, Grindelwald has possessed him!" Harry said.

"Well, that's bad."

Suddenly, while they were distracted Grindelwald made a break for Anair's wand.

"Stupefy!" Harry cried.

"Avada Kedavra!" Lane yelled. Green and red jets of light burst from their wand to where Grindelwald was standing. The stunning spell hit its target, but it hardly seemed to impede Grindelwald at all, and he grabbed Anair's wand a disapparated as Lane's killing curse passed through the previously occupied space.

"This is bad." Harry said.

"You bet it's bad, Gellert Grindelwald is back! Not only that, we don't know where he went!" Lane said.

"That's not the worst part." Harry replied sitting down on the ground.

"What could be worse?" Lane asked.

"Grindelwald… he took me by surprise and managed to disarm me, twice." Harry said. "You saw how that Stupefy hardly affected him… my wand's loyalties have switched. If this wand's loyalty has switched, then so has that of the Elder Wand."

"If Grindelwald gets the Elder Wand back…" Lane said.

"Yes, that would be bad." Harry said. He stood back up and looked at his wand, always so loyal to him, but now it was questioning him. It was Harry's job to win its loyalty back. "We need to get to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Grindelwald cannot be allowed to get the Elder Wand."

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**Remember to review! Especially after that epic plot twist, *smile***


	4. Chapter 4: Return to Hogwarts

**Harry Potter: Auror Tales**

**Book 1: Those Left**

* * *

**By Obrusnine**

**Chapter 4: Return to Hogwarts**

* * *

"Are you absolutely sure that he even knows?" Lane asked.

"Positive. Now that I think back, he smiled before he grabbed the wand." Harry said. "This was his intention from the beginning, this was all a trap. Anair reappeared knowing the Aurors would come after him, and he that this year would be the time I finished training."

"Well, we can talk about this on the move. Let's get to Hogsmeade." Lane replied.

"Agreed."

They turned on the spot and apparated. The next second, they appeared in Hogsmeade. It was dark out and no one was around. Lane turned to run up the main path to Hogwarts.

"No, I know a shortcut." Harry said. "The passage into the Room of Requirement from the Hogs Head is still open."

"Lead the way." Lane said. They set off at a run for the tavern. "Harry, how would Grindelwald know exactly who was going to come after him though?"

"I suppose he could have waited until they had sent enough Aurors in after him until they eventually had no choice but to send us." Harry said. "But no, that doesn't make sense. The file said we were the first team dispatched to find him."

"Why would they send two freshly trained recruits after a highly deadly and experienced Death Eater?" Lane asked. "There were surely other less pressing matters to start us out on."

"You think we were set up?" Harry asked.

"I don't see any other explanation." Lane said. "Now that _I _think back, the boss seemed a little curious as to why we were going on this assignment."

"How do you know that?"

"The look on his face."

"But isn't he the one who decides our assignments?"

"It doesn't mean that a little pressure from somewhere else couldn't make him inclined to do so." Lane said. "They are short on personnel; the proposition isn't too far-fetched to be considered something he couldn't accommodate.

"So it wouldn't have even needed to be a suggestion made by someone of equal rank within the ministry…" Harry said.

"Exactly."

"So we were set up, and we have no way to figure out by whom."

"That's about it."

They reached the Hogs Head at this moment and Harry knocked frantically.

"Who is it making that racket?" Came a call from inside.

"Mr. Dumbledore, it's me Harry! Open up!" Harry replied. The door opened almost immediately.

"Potter, what are you doing here?" Aberforth asked.

"No time to explain, I need to use the passage into Hogwarts." Harry said. Before Aberforth could respond, Harry and Lane sprinted past him. "Sorry!"

They quickly headed through the tavern and up to the painting before Harry threw the passage open and ran inside. Lane quickly followed suit. They ran down the long dark hallway for a while before Harry finally said something.

"Say… John. Before, you tried to use the killing curse on Grindelwald…" Harry trailed off.

"The Aurors have been authorized to use them for a while now Harry, I wasn't breaking any rules." Lane replied.

"I know, you just seemed to jump on the option a bit quickly."

"What was I supposed to do? I couldn't exactly just let the one of the greatest Dark Wizards of all time just go running about if I had the chance to stop him."

Harry didn't respond.

"It's just…" He just couldn't seem to form a sentence that would rebuke John's point.

"I know you have a problem with the curse Harry. A lot of Wizard's do." Lane said. "That's fine. It doesn't make you any better or worse than others are. Some are willing to go that distance and others aren't. I won't hold it against you."

"Thanks I guess." Harry replied.

"No hesitation eh?"

"No hesitation."

When they finally emerged on the other side, they found the Room of Requirement completely empty. No one had been using it when they were heading down the passage, and they had no needs of the room, so it didn't surprise Harry. They quickly slammed out of the door and into the hallway onto the seventh floor. They created quite a cacophony of noise as they emerged into the hallway, and naturally, Peeves popped out screeching.

When he saw them he grinned and was about to speak when Harry spoke first.

"Shut up Peeves. This is not the time." He said. "Silencio!"

His mouth was buckled shut and all Peeves managed was _mmmph! _

"Nice one Harry." Lane said as they kept running and headed towards the stairs. But Peeves was not done with them, he headed after them repeating the _mmmph _sound over and over and bouncing off of the walls. He broke glass objects, knocked paintings off of the walls, and shattered pottery in noise even greater than before.

"PEEVES!" Filch yelled coming from around the corner ahead. "What?"

"Sorry Filch, Auror business, talk later." Harry said running past him as Peeves buzzed along behind him and got control of his mouth back.

"Puny Potter! Filthy Filch!" He cried laughing maniacally afterwards. Filch seemed more concerned with stopping Peeves then dealing with Harry so he turned around and chased Peeves as he buzzed back along the hallways.

"Some things never change I suppose." Lane said as he ran along behind Harry.

"Couldn't agree more." Harry replied.

They spoke no further as they descended as fast as possible and ran into the Entrance Hall.

"Guess no one prowls the halls anymore." Lane said. Right on cue, Professor Slughorn stepped out of the door from the Dungeon's and looked at them.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Hey Professor, sorry, can't talk." Harry replied as they dashed past him.

"Alright then. Good luck I suppose." Slughorn replied.

"I stand corrected." Lane replied. Finally they managed to rush out the double doors and out onto the grounds. After quite a bit of running they made it to the edge of the lake. It was quite dark so both John and Harry lit their wands. "Where is it?"

"We're getting close, just a little further." Harry answered. Just a few seconds later, the tomb came into view in the distance. It seemed to be intact so they slowed down a bit. "Okay, looks like we made it first."

"We should set a trap." Lane said.

"Too late, I already did." A voice came from behind a tree to their left. Grindelwald suddenly popped out and they both swung their wands to point towards him.

"Detaneo!" He cried. Lane brought down his wand and tackled Harry to the ground as a chain of flaming explosions went off behind them. They just nearly missed getting incinerated. Smoke washed over them as they climbed to their feet.

"Detonating curse. Let's you place down spots of magic and then detonate them from a distance at a time of your choosing." Lane mumbled.

"Thanks for the safe." Harry replied coughing.

"Wendio." Lane said. A burst of wind burst from the tip of his wand and cleared the smoke. They both looked around for Grindelwald and saw him sprinting towards Dumbledore's tomb. "Guess he assumed that would kill us."

"Well, let's surprise him then." Harry replied.

They both set off at a run after Grindelwald as he headed for the tomb.

"Ready?" Lane asked.

"Yea, on three." Harry said. They stopped and raised their wands to aim at Grindelwald in the distance. "Three, Stupefy!"

"Avada Kedavra!" Lane cried.

A weak jet of red light left flew from Harry's wand and a powerful jet of green from Lane's. Their spells mingled in mid-air and ended up twisting together into a mixed form of red and green light. Grindelwald seemed to sense it coming because he flipped around.

"Protego!" He yelled. The spells slammed into him a second later and his shield held but he was sent flying backwards with the combined force of the spells. He slammed into the top of the tomb and went rolling off of the other side and onto the ground.

"Looks like your spells can still help a bit Harry." Lane said as they broke off at a run towards the tomb.

"Only with yours to help out John." He replied. Suddenly, Grindelwald popped out over the tomb and aimed his wand at Harry.

"Avada Kedavra!" He cried. A jet of green light leapt from his wand at Harry. Lane, knowing any shield Harry cast in his wands current state would be too weak to protect him, leaned in front of Harry.

"Protego!" He said. The spell collided and dissipated with little effect. John leaned back out of the way as Harry waved his own wand.

"Arcaneo!" Harry yelled. A flash of purple light leapt from his wand and curved around the tomb towards Grindelwald, who quickly pointed his wand at the arcing push jinx.

"Stupefy!" He yelled. A flash of red light erupted from his wand and collided with the jinx in mid-air. It flew straight through Harry's spell as if it wasn't even there. Grindelwald then took aim at John. "Avada Kedavra!"

Lane quickly blocked the spell with a shield charm.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled with a wave of his wand as they started to get close. Grindelwald's wand barely twitched.

"Expulso!" He responded. A small explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet and tripped them up. "Avada Kedavra!"

He sent the spell at Harry, knowing a shield charm would be insufficient; he dived to the left instinctually and crashed into John.

"Harry!" Lane said angrily.

"Sorry!" Harry replied. He quickly brought them into a roll so that Lane could stand back up.

"We need to work on our teamwork." Lane replied.

"We haven't been working together all that long." Harry answered.

"Good point…"

"Watch out!"

Harry tackled him out of the way as Grindelwald sent another killing curse at John's back.

"Now we're even." Harry said as they stood back up pointing their wands at Grindelwald who was now a mere ten yards away. Lane blocked another killing curse.

"Give it up Grindelwald!" Lane yelled. "It's two versus one."

"It's more like one-point-five versus one!" Grindelwald replied sending a killing curse at Harry which Lane blocked.

"Have it your way. Avada Kedavra!" Lane yelled.

"No!" Harry yelled trying to grab Lane's arm. It was too late though, and the spell which was aimed at Grindelwald's chest missed by just a little bit and instead hit the lid of the tomb, blowing it in half and revealing Dumbledore's magically preserved body. Harry held back tears that were returning from long ago as he pointed his wand at Grindelwald.

Grindelwald grinned as he looked down at the Elder Wand gripped between Dumbledore's fingers.

"Don't even think about it!" Harry yelled. "Accio Elder Wand!"

The wand leapt from Dumbledore's fingers and into the air towards Harry.

"Stupefy!" Lane yelled in an attempt to make sure Grindelwald didn't manage to grab it. But it was too late; Grindelwald grabbed the wand and cast a quick shield charm to block the spell. He laughed maniacally.

"It's too late." Grindelwald said. "I probably should've just went and got this in the first place. But… it doesn't matter. Things always end the way they are supposed to in the end."

"Put down the wand!" Harry yelled. "With or without that wand, we can beat you!"

"No, I don't think you can." Grindelwald said. "Now, I think I will be seeing you both later."

"No!" Harry yelled. With a spurt of quick thinking, he ran forward and jumped over the tomb and touched Grindelwald the same second as he apparated with a loud crack.

"Harry!" Harry heard Lane cried as he disappeared.

He felt the distinct sensation of being squeezed for a few seconds before they popped out inside of a dingy wooden warehouse and Harry continued his tackle as Grindelwald and Harry hit the floor rolling. Both of them dropped their wands as Harry went for a more practical solution with an attempt to punch Grindelwald, but he intercepted Harry's punch with his hand and threw Harry away from him.

He then leapt to his feet and turned around in an attempt to get to the Elder Wand. Harry leapt to his feet at the same time though and managed to tackle Grindelwald when he had his back turned. Unfortunately though, they fell to the ground close enough from Grindelwald to grab the wand and flip over, sending Harry flying off. Luckily though, Harry managed to grab his own wand as he rolled and got back onto his feet as Grindelwald got back onto his.

"Avada Kedavra!" Grindelwald yelled without hesitation. Harry jumped to the side to avoid the spell then aimed his own wand at Grindelwald.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled. Grindelwald didn't even attempt to block the spell, he just continued with another wave as it hit him with little effect, only causing him to slow down a bit.

"Expulso!" He yelled pointing his wand at Harry.

"Protego!" Harry yelled. But the shield was weak, and it was shattered as Harry was forcefully thrown through a wooden beam which broke with a loud _crack _and into the wall. As he sat against the wall, Grindelwald advanced on him smiling.

"It was a valiant effort Potter." Grindelwald said pointing his wand at Harry. "But even with a wand at full strength, you could not beat me now. Any last words?"

Harry ignored Grindelwald and looked down at his wand clutched in his hand.

"I don't know if you can understand me…" Harry said.

"Haha, the great Harry Potter reduced to talking to his wand." Grindelwald said. Again, Harry ignored him.

"But that doesn't matter." Harry continued. "We've been through a lot together you and I. I know he managed to take me by surprise before, and that was a disservice. You know I'm capable of more than that. I know I'm capable of more.

"I'm asking you… please, trust me. I can do this, we can do this. Trust me."

Grindelwald laughed as Harry continued to look intensely at his hand. Suddenly, a warm feeling wrapped itself around his hand and energy seemed to flow through him. Harry closed his eyes and smiled, knowing his wand respected him again.

"What are you smiling about?" Grindelwald asked. Harry opened his eyes and looked at Grindelwald.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" Harry said raising his wand. "Stupefy!"

"Avada Kedavra!" Grindelwald yelled in response.

The spells clashed in mid-air, and in a flash of bright light, the center exploded. Grindelwald was thrown backwards while Harry was thrown backwards and through the wall and into a set of wooden boxes. His whole entire body hurt as he stood up from inside the pile of boxes. His face was covered in his own blood, dirt, and dust… but still he stood and let his robe drift off of his shoulders and onto the floor.

"Wendio!" Harry yelled. A gust of wind burst from his wand and cleared the smoke from the explosion, yet he did not see Grindelwald as he walked through the opening in the wall he created and saw him nowhere. "If your wand is so powerful Grindelwald, why are you so scared? Just come out and face me!"

Grindelwald stepped out from behind a wooden beam with his wand pointed at Harry.

"I am not afraid of anyone." He said.

"Dumbledore beat you while you had the Elder Wand, so I can to." Harry responded.

"I told you…!" He started.

"I don't care what you told me!" Harry yelled. "I only care that he defeated you. Stupefy!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Again the spells clashed. This time, the spells were more concentrated though so their wands remained linked by a chain of light that they both struggled to take the advantage of by keeping their wands straight in the face of incredible resistance.

"You can't win!" Grindelwald yelled.

"You can't win either!" Harry yelled back. They both released the wand lock and were thrown backwards a bit by the resulting explosion.

"I say differently!" He said. He pointed his wand at a set of rusted iron boxes near Harry and started to cast a spell.

"Bombarda Maxime!" He cried.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled. Grindelwald had managed to get off the spell though, and even as the wand started to leap from his hand, the boxes next to Harry exploded. Several small shards of Iron almost immediately sprayed Harry's exposed hands and ripped through his cloths as he raised an arm to block his face.

"Epoximise!" Grindelwald yelled to keep ahold of the wand.

Just as he said this, a large piece of rusty iron reached Harry and stabbed him straight through the stomach. So even as his many cuts and holes in his skin bled, he coughed blood as yet more of it poured from his stomach and he fell over onto his back with a cry of pain. He looked at his stomach and with a groan of pain managed to pull it out and stand back up in an attempt to fight Grindelwald.

He tried to raise his wand, but found that his arm wouldn't co-operate.

"It's over Potter." Grindelwald said advancing with his wand pointed at Harry.

"No, it isn't." Harry said. He disapparated before Grindelwald could do anything.

After a few agonizing seconds, he appeared back in the Hogwarts grounds near the white tomb to find John still standing there apparently waiting for something.

"Harry! What…?" He trailed off as he saw he was injured.

"John… I…" Harry tried to say. But then he collapsed onto his knees.

"I need to get you to the hospital wing up at the school." John said running to Harry's side and trying to help him stand up.

"I…" Harry mumbled as the sound of everything started to become muted and his vision began to fade. Then he collapsed unconscious onto the ground with one arm over John's shoulder.

**I hope you like the action! I love writing wizard duels, it's a lot of fun to picture this in my head, and I hope it is to picture it in yours as well. Remember to review! **


	5. Chapter 5: Aftermath

**What? No reviews for that last chapter? *sad face***

* * *

**Harry Potter: Auror Tales**

**Book 1: Those Left**

* * *

**By Obrusnine**

**Chapter 5: Aftermath**

* * *

Harry suddenly awoke. He felt warm as he was wrapped in blankets. He shook his head and opened his eyes, and his vision was blurry because he was not wearing his glasses.

"He's awake!" Yelled a voice Harry recognized as Lane's. "Don't move Harry, I've got it."

There was a slight clatter and then Harry's glasses were half-shoved onto his face.

"Watch it John, you're going to poke my eye out." Harry said. "I could've just gotten them myself."

There was a cacophony of approaching footsteps as he blinked back to full vision to find John sitting next to him. Madame Pomfrey walked up.

"No I certainly think not Potter." She said. "You stay still now."

He tried to sit up, after which he was subsequently pushed down harshly by Madame Pomfrey.

"What? Why?" Harry asked.

"Because, Harry, the spell is still healing your wounds." John answered. "Just be patient."

"You should listen to him; he's a smart one he is." She replied. She waved her wand and Harry's blankets unraveled around him and started to leap off of him, at which point he realized he was naked and grabbed the blanket with his hand before it went below his waste. "What are you doing? It's not like you've got anything I haven't seen before!"

"He's sitting right there!" Harry said. She rolled her eyes and forced John to step back as she closed the curtain. Finally, he grudgingly let the blankets slide off. His stomach and quite a bit down his right leg were glowing through a set of bandages darkened with blood.

"Wingardium Leviosa." She said. The bandages unwrapped themselves and floated a bit into the air to reveal that his skin wasn't even fully done healing, and his internal organs were protected by a thin transparent layer of something Harry did not recognize. "Incendio."

The bandages incinerated in mid-air as Madame Pomfrey turned about and waved her wand to extract a new set of bandages that floated over Harry's wound. With a final wave, the bandages wrapped themselves around his leg and stayed still. But the glowing did not subside.

"That's just creepy." Harry said. Madame Pomfrey waved her wand again and the blankets covered him back up. Another wave made the curtains pull back.

"Don't you move there." She said.

"Don't worry, I won't." He replied… knowing that he shouldn't after what he had just seen. John sat back down in a seat next to Harry's bed.

"What happened Harry?" Lane asked.

"Well, after I tried tackling Grindelwald…" Harry started. Suddenly, the doors in front opened and marched through Oliver Jaggerweld who appeared absolutely livid and furious.

Madame Pomfrey made to stop him from entering.

"Who are you? You aren't supposed to be in here!" She urged annoyed.

"I am the head of the Auror officer and these are my employees." Oliver said showing her his badge.

"Fine, just be quiet. He needs rest." She replied grudgingly letting him pass. He did not sit, instead just standing in a place at the end of Harry's bed.

"Sir… what are you doing here?" Lane asked.

"I got your message Lane, that's what." Oliver replied. "You were right. You were set up."

"By who?" Harry asked.

"An Auror by the name of Alexander Licks." Oliver said. "He suggested that the new recruits be put on more challenging operations earlier this week. He's a senior Auror and the request did make sense."

"So how do you know we were set up?" Lane asked.

"He was under the Imperius Curse." He replied. "Hell, he's still under it."

"How does one tell if someone is under the Imperius Curse exactly?" Lane asked.

"We found a wand that wasn't his in his desk. The last spell it cast was the Imperius." Oliver said. "Other than something awfully convenient like that happening, I don't see any other way. We've been working on other methods of detecting and curing the curse however, so he's being kept in holding until we can fix it up."

"Why would the caster leave the wand in the desk of the victim?" Harry asked. "That makes no sense."

"You're right Potter, there's something else at work here." Oliver said.

"It could be the Death Eaters trying to sabotage Grindelwald…" Harry proposed. "What he said back at the house seemed to indicate the two were at odds. Also, we at least know one thing; the leader of the Death Eaters is apparently a woman."

"How do you know that?" Lane asked.

"Back at the house I asked Grindelwald if he was the new leader of the Death Eaters…" Harry said. "He responded with, "I would never lead that meaningless rabble. She will eventually fall before me like any other who opposes my power though."... or something along those lines."

"Well, at least the bad guys are fighting each other." Lane said optimistically.

"For now…" Oliver said. "They could realize they have a common goal at any time."

"No, I don't think so." Harry said. "Grindelwald is pretty obsessed with control… and with the Elder Wand; he now has the power to get it. If anything, the fighting between them will only escalate."

"This whole thing is getting out of hand." Oliver said. "Potter, before we proceed, I want you to tell me everything that's happened."

Harry told him the story.

"Okay, I see." Oliver said. "As of now, you two are off of this case. I'm setting up a new task force to fight Grindelwald and the Death Eaters and I'm relegating you two to more simple cases."

"What?" Lane asked angrily jumping to his feet. "That's ridiculous!"

"I don't really see how." Oliver responded angrily. "The only reason you got this assignment in the first place is because of Licks. The way I see it, you two are a liability. Potter was almost killed!"

"We also have more-" Lane started to say before the doors opened and Ginny walked in.

"That is enough of this-" Madame Pomfrey started to say as she stepped out of her office angrily. Before she could continue though, Ginny focused an angry stare on her.

"Where is he?" She asked. Madame Pomfrey seemed to stutter for a minute before regaining her composure.

"This is the hospital wing! You do not just get to barge in here and demand answers to your questions!" She replied. As they argued John put a smirk on his face.

"It's like two demons battling for supremacy…" He muttered.

"Hey, that's my wife you're talking about." Harry replied.

"Oh, sorry."

"…there can only be two visitors at once!" Pomfrey said back angrily. Oliver quickly turned and stepped in.

"Ladies, this is unnecessary, I was just leaving." He said.

"Hey, we weren't done talking yet!" Lane said.

"I believe we are Mr. Lane, and unless you want to be my first ever reprimand for insubordination, you will quiet yourself." Oliver said. Lane merely grumbled as Oliver left.

"Just keep it down." Madame Pomfrey said angrily before storming back into her office. Ginny marched over with a look of pure anger on her face, causing both Lane and Harry to gulp.

"Hi honey." Harry said nervously. She walked up and slapped him across the face. "Ouch! What was that for!?"

"For nearly getting yourself killed, again!" She replied.

"Hey, I haven't nearly got myself killed in years!" Harry said rubbing his face.

"This is for living through it again." She suddenly said kissing him. Lane looked at them with an odd look on his face as Ginny pulled away and sat down. She quickly looked at him and glared. "What are you smirking at?"

"What? I'm not smirking." Lane said quickly looking at the pottery. "Very interesting erm… design here."

"What happened?" She asked. When Harry made to speak and obviously tell her the truth Lane objected.

"Hey, you aren't supposed to tell her that!" Lane said. "It's classified."

"You've clearly never been married." Harry said. Lane merely grumbled. He told her everything that happened.

"Hmph, I work on the Daily Prophet Quiddich new column and they don't even have the decency to tell me they're publishing lies." Ginny said.

"I don't even think they know they're publishing lies." Harry said. "It's incredibly secret. Although, I've never really trusted the prophet anyways."

"Too much Government control there." Lane piped in. "Better than the Quibbler though. That stuff is just… odd."

They both glared at him.

"What?" He asked. They shook their heads and looked back at each other.

"You won't have to worry about it anyways; we've been relegated to easier cases while Mr. Jaggerweld sets up a task force." Harry said. "…which we won't be a part of."

"What? Why not?" Ginny asked.

"He thinks we're a liability." He said. "After what's happened, I can see why he would think so."

"That doesn't excuse anything." Ginny said. "Most other wizards put into the situation you were would already be dead."

"That doesn't really count for much in the Aurors." Lane said. "Speaking of, we haven't really had a proper introduction."

He extended his hand.

"Lane, John Lane." He said. She accepted the hand.

"Ginny Potter." She replied.

"I know." Lane said. "Anyone who follows professional Quiddich knows you. Think you'll win the World Cup this year?"

"Well, we'll certainly try." Ginny said.

"Well keep up the good work. You're the best chaser the team has got." Lane said. "The Hollyhead Harpies are looking pretty good this year."

"Yes we are. Best team we've had in years matter-a-fact. At least according the captain." Ginny replied. "But that's not the point. You two should be on that case."

"Well, remember what Mr. Jaggerweld said John?" Harry asked.

"About what?"

"Aurors acting of their own accord." Harry answered grinning.

Lane grinned right back.

"I think I like where this is going." He said.

"So you two are going to keep working the case in your off-time aren't you?" She asked.

"You bet." They both said.

"Well, you can count me in." Ginny said.

"Are you sure Ginny?" Harry asked. "It's going to be dangerous."

"It always is isn't it? What kind of wife would I be if I didn't help you when you really needed it?" Ginny asked. "Besides, we all know Grindelwald and the Death Eaters need to be stopped."

"Good, then we have a goal." Harry said.

"We do, but you need to heal up first." Ginny said.

"Well, we should get a head start." Lane said.

"I've got practice in the morning, but you make a good point." Ginny said. "Where should we start?"

"Well, we've still got this file and there are a few small clues I found at the locations I checked out that I would like to follow." Lane said.

"The Ministry isn't going to support you in this one." Ginny said. "But maybe I could pull a few strings and get some more for you."

"Hermione and Percy?" Harry asked.

"You know me too well." Ginny replied smiling.

"Well, let's get going then." Lane said standing up.

"Get some sleep Harry." Ginny said standing up as well.

"Yes mamn." He replied. "Be careful."

She kissed him.

"You know me." She said simply before walking out.


End file.
